TV Review: Jean Claude Van Johnson

Back in 2016, a trailer debuted. A trailer which features 80’s action star Jean Claude Van Damme getting the ever loving crap beat out of him. The trailer alone was hilarious and interesting enough for me to want to watch the show. The pilot drops a year later and then disappears again. At the end of 2017, the 6-episode show is finally released on Amazon and it did not disappoint.

“Stars global martial arts & actor Jean-Claude Van Damme playing "Jean-Claude Van Damme", a global martial arts & film sensation, also operating under the simple alias of "Johnson" as the world's best undercover private contractor. Retired for years, a chance encounter with a lost love brings him back to the game. This time, he'll be deadlier than ever. Probably.”

Imagine that an action star used that as a cover to be a world class spy. And that spy was Van Damme. How could you go wrong? I will be the first to admit, I am one of the biggest Van Damme marks out there. I have owned every film and watched he has ever been in. Understanding he is now getting old and most people forgot about him until the 2008 hit JCVD.

The show is only 6 episodes long but it carries the burden of attempting to remain relevant and funny throughout the 20+ min episodes. As much as I love JCVD, the total concept of JCVJ was a complete flop even with a doppelganger character that sounded like he sucked on a giant balloon of helium and shit.

Also, the constant rolling inside joke of TimeCop lost its meaning after the second reference to the film. TimeCop is an excellent film, but constantly brining up the joke to keep the nostalgia of what JCVD’s career was, got excessive and annoying.

Overall, its good for a quick binge watch and a handful of chuckles, but watcher beware, you will scratch your head a lot.

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